The hype man might be the most overlooked musician. That’s because he is not even considered a musician, simply a sidekick designed to get the crowd pumped. The one exception would be Puff Daddy and only because he was a producer as well.
But there is an art to the hype man. Would Public Enemy be such a mighty force if not for Flava Flav offsetting Chuck D’s flow with shouts of “yeah bo-eee”? Without Flava, there wouldn’t be anyone yelling at the listener to listen up. It makes Chuck’s arrival all the more important.
The Go! Team, a sextet from Brighton, England, hardly resembles Public Enemy – but it does know how to use the hype man, or in its case, the hype woman.
On the group’s debut, “Thunder, Lightning, Strike,” finally released in the United States after problems with sample clearance, the Go! Team mixes twee-pop with hip-hop and ’70s soul with ’80s cartoon themes.
The Go! Team is practically an instrumental band – its sound often resembling Cliff Nobles and Company’s 1968 hit single, “The Horse.” The group uses samples of horns, flutes, strings and other lush instruments on top of their jangly pop band. At times, it can be hard to tell what is real and what is sampled.
The hype woman Ninja does not even appear on the majority of the record. When she’s featured, she’s only there for a small portion of the song. But it’s just enough.
Ninja, with help from the group’s other two females who chant like cheerleaders, pump up listeners with classic hype man lingo such as, “We came here to rock the microphone.”
The Go! Team’s music is not boring. It is an intricate web of pop, spun with the best, brightest, sweetest melodies in music over the past four decades.
So why the need for the hype?
Ninja makes sure you are constantly aware of Go! Team’s music. There is no nodding off.
Even with the band’s layers of music that continually transform, instrumental music can fall prey to becoming background noise, much more easily than an album with words.
On the track “Bottle Rocket,” Ninja takes more of a lead role with an actual rap, not just cheers. Still, Ninja’s rap remains repetitive and with a simple ’70s old-school vibe.
Ninja is not the most vital element of the Go! Team, but she is the star.
